


Band practice

by slacked



Category: Bandom, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, bloody noses, joshler - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-25
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-06-10 17:58:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6967381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slacked/pseuds/slacked
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As much as Tyler loves basketball practice, basketball doesn't involve cute drummers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. the one where tyler's kind of a stalker

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [the joker laughs at you (don't you think?)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1198281) by [SoloChaos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoloChaos/pseuds/SoloChaos). 



Tyler stares at the clock. 3 minutes. 3 agonizing minutes have past since he last looked. He feels defeated.  
With a silent sigh he continues on with his normal position. Arms folded, head on the desk. As his math teacher goes on with the last few seconds of the lesson, Tyler begins to pick at his finger nails, anxiously awaited for the period to end. Band practice is after school today.

That means Tyler gets to play piano.  
That means Tyler gets to absentmindedly stare across the room.  
That means his eyes get to lie upon the face that belongs to one of the drummers.

Joshua Dun.  
What a name.  
What a face.  
What a smile.

Tyler likes to stare at Joshua. He's really good at it too. Almost as good as playing the piano.  
As good as he is at staring and playing piano, he's not very good at waiting for Math to end. But lucky enough for him, the bell begins to ring. Tyler's head pops up, quickly fumbling through his bag, trying to get all of his books back inside.

He looks like he's having a minor stroke.

Tyler is just as bad at waiting for class to end as he is at looking inconspicuous. In his mess of fumbling books into his bag he fumbles to the floor.  
"Classy" Brendon calls from across the class room.  
As Tyler looks up to feed him with a clever comeback, Brendon's almost out the door, on his way to the practice room.

"Crap-" Tyler whispers, collecting himself back onto his two feet.

"You better hurry if you wanna see your boyfriend," Brendon calls back.

"Right." Tyler pauses. "Wait what, no."

Tyler doesn't have a boyfriend, Tyler's not gay. He just likes to look at Joshua Dun's face.

-

Tyler enters into the practice room.  
(More like stumbles, but we'll say enters)

Tyler takes his rightful seat behind the piano.  
Tyler's head peaks slightly above the piano, his eyes searching the area.  
No one's sitting behind the drums.

The door opens.  
Joshua Dun enters.

He pops his head back down quickly. Only for it to slowly hover above the top of the piano once more. His attention is diverted away from the drum set by kissy noises coming from Brendon and Pete. Tyler wasn't aware his face had the capacity to change into the exact hue of a tomato.  
Ms. Laurence teases Josh for 'being late as usual' and Josh gives an embarrassed smile. Tyler once again reverts to the colour of a tomato.

Band practice is filled with repeating beats over and over. Let's just say, Tyler's school isn't known for being very gifted. So as students slip up, the band has to repeat the same parts of songs over and over, all the while Josh maintains a perfect beat.

As perfect as the smile on his face.

"Are you quite alright Mr. Joseph?" Tyler didn't realize he wasn't keeping in time until Ms. Laurence spoke.  
"Yes," It comes out more like a hiccup.

He can hear Pete and Brendon laughing to themselves. Tyler wants to curl up into a ball right then and there. Practice then moves on as usual. Tyler taking a peak at Josh every now and then, making sure to not slip up again.

-

Brendon gets picked up by his Dad. Shortly after, Pete is too. Tyler waves goodbye. He sits at the front of the school, kicking at the pavement with his shoes. His Mom is late picking him up. He finds the sun to be draining and there's no point for him to be sitting out here any longer, so he finds his way back inside the school.

Stumbling along the empty hallways, he walks by the music hall. He can hear drums coming from one of the practice rooms. The door is opened a crack.  
He peeks his head inside to see, you guessed it, Joshua Dun.

He has his back to the door, and he's really into his drumming. Slamming really hard, and really fast.  
Tyler's just standing there, cheek against the door, staring. He starts to hear footsteps coming down the hall.

It's time to panic!

With his fidgety hands he tries to leave the doorway without drawing any suspicion, as if he were just walking down the hall like normal.  
But no, not Tyler. Tyler can't do that.

Tyler has to turn around too fast and smack his face into the door frame.  
How nonchalant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> good going tyler.  
> anyways, this is my first time writing a fic so some feedback would be much appreciated,  
> also i plan on continuing this so yeah


	2. the one where brendon should stop talking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So you were stalking him?"

Tyler feels his back smack against the floor. His vision becomes dark around the edges. He hears the drumming stop, followed by rushed footsteps and something warm running down his face. He begins to hesitantly pat the area. After examining the bright scarlet liquid on his finger tips he comes to the conclusion that he has a bloody nose. That and the fact that he hears a voice say,

"Shit, are you okay? Your nose is bleeding." Tyler wants to sink into the floor.

"Um" is all the comes out. Tyler feels an arm start to wrap around his torso, helping him to his feet. His legs feel like jello. Partially from the fact that his nose is bleeding, and his vision is becoming patchy, and also because he looks up to see who's helped him. "Joshua Dun?"

"That's me," He says with a light laugh, helping the other boy stay standing. "And you're Tyler, right?"

"Joshua Dun," He mumbles. 

"Alrighty then, time to get you to see the nurse." Josh says more so to himself.

"Okay, just don't tell Joshua." Tyler might pass out soon.

"No of course not, don't worry." Josh says trying to muffle a laugh. He warps his arm around the other boys torso, helping him keep balance as they walk.

"You're so coordinated," Tyler says in amazement. Nice one Tyler.

 

 

-

 

 

"So what exactly happened?" Josh asks, staring at the boy with the ice pack over his nose.

"Well," Tyler isn't good at thinking on the spot. He doesn't dare to look at Josh. He can feel him staring at the light bruises forming under his eyes and on the bridge of his nose.

"Out of nowhere your face smacked into the door and you were on the floor, what were you doing?" There's amusement in Josh's voice. "Were you watching me?"

Tyler feels his lungs collapse into his stomach.

 _"Well you're blunt"_ he wants to say. For whatever reason he decides against it.

"It's okay if you were." Tyler doesn't attempt to respond to Josh, for he fears only inaudible noises will come out.

 

 

-

 

 

"Is it true you were stalking him?" 

"Shut up Brendon-"

"Why were you stalking him?"

"I wasn't stalking-"

"If you're going to follow someone around the school you might want to try being discrete." 

"I wasn't following-"

"Like when I go spy on Ryan at least I do it without getting caught."

"Now that's just weird." Pete interrupts. He sits down next to Brendon, unpacking his books onto the table.

"Great, now we can get some expert advice." Brendon turns his head with a cocky ass smirk.

"What're you talking about? You're the stalker here."

"Oh don't give me that, I see the heart eyes you have for Patrick." Brendon's face screams victory, Pete's screams embarrassment. "I don't doubt you take the longer bus route home sometimes, you know, just to get a better look at him."

Pete proceeds to shove Brendon, making him fall on his ass.

Tyler has never seen Pete's face so red before, or someone fall on their ass so fast in his life. 

Tyler turns away and proceeds to read his book as if he doesn't know them.

 

 

-

 

 

Tyler meets up with Brendon before band practice, he can't stop gushing about Ryan and how they brushed elbows in Math class when Brendon's calculator 'accidentally' fell next to him.

Tyler tries his best to nod and make eye contact with Brendon, you know doing things that create the illusion that he's listening and intrigued, but it's awfully hard to pretend you're listening to someone when Joshua Dun dyed his hair blue and is starting to walk towards the vicinity of the door to the music room. Tyler can feel his heart start to climb up his throat with every step Josh takes.

He quickly darts his head away when he sees Josh had noticed. He begins rubbing his temples and looking at the floor, you know, to look casual and inconspicuous. 

Suddenly Brendon's hand is rocking Tyler's shoulder. 

"Dude what the fuck,"

"Oh right yeah Ryan is great." Tyler mumbles trying to sound agreeable. 

"What? No, Josh just totally checked you out as he was going inside, how could you miss that?"

"Who?"

"Josh."

Tyler can only manage to stare off into the distance. "What?" He finally squeaks out.

"Joshua William Dun. _The_ Josh Dun. Drummer boy. Guy you picture naked in the shower. Him. He just checked you out."

Tyler thinks he might just pass out again for a little bit.

"You know if you asked him out he'd probably say yes, you don't have to stalk him." Brendon winks like an asshole.

Still no response from Tyler. 

 

 

-

 

 

Tyler's just trying his best to not bring attention to the fact that his face was bright red all band practice. 

Ms. Laurence comes over in between songs while everyone is setting up their sheet music. "Mr. Joseph, you're looking a little flushed, how are you feeling?"

"Yes." Tyler starts to fumble the pages of his sheet music. "I mean," Tyler doesn't know what the question was. "Okay."

"You're okay? You sure?"

He nods. She goes back to the rest of the rest of the students. People are still talking among themselves. Someone tells Josh a joke. He giggles.

Tyler dies and hides his head behind the piano.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is getting cringey my god,  
> thanks so much for all the comments and likes on the first chapter!  
> i have a rough idea for the next one so hopefully it won't take as long to write
> 
> (but seriously this is starting to make me cringe)  
> ps feedback is always appreciated greatly


	3. the one where josh accidentally walks in on tyler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Nice playing." Would it be appropriate if Tyler passed out?

Tyler is _not_ going to do it again.

He _is_ going to wait outside the school doors with the rest of his band mates and wait for his always late mother to come pick him up, but he is _not_ going to go back inside once Brendon leaves and go down the stairs, into the halls, and down to the practice rooms to watch Josh Dun.

After a good 5 minutes of conversation Brendon's Dad comes to pick him up, leaving Tyler alone on the front steps. He sits down feeling the cold concrete steps against his pants. A gust goes by, sending goose bumps up his bare arms. He stays like that for a solid 3 minutes. It'd be a valid reason for him to go inside because of the cold, wouldn't it? Tyler agrees with this so he goes back through the front doors. 

Wandering downstairs he's greeted by a familiar sound. A steady beat, echoing down the halls, coming from a drum kit behind one of the practice room doors. He feels his body itching to get closer to the door.

 _No Tyler stop_. He tells himself. _You're not a stalker_.

But that doesn't stop him from moving closer and closer to the door. 

His head peaks over looking in on the translucent glass near the top of the door. Tyler takes a moment to take in what he's doing. He's on his tippy toes, exposing the top of his head, to look at the bright blue boy.

 _Oh my god._ He tells himself. _I'm a stalker._

He ducks his head down once he see's Josh's finished. With the speedy pace of an uncoordinated sloth, Tyler darts down the hallway away from the door to the practice room. 

He hears feet shuffling around the door and the door begin to close. He turns around to see Josh closing the door behind him. Tyler then realizes that all Josh has to do is look up and see him and realize how weird he is. He could run? But that’d be more suspicious. Before he can make up his mind, he turns around once more to see that they’ve made eye contact.

 

“Hey,” Josh says with a nod, walking down the hallway. Tyler is frozen, like a deer in the headlights. “Were you waiting to use the room? It’s all free now.”

“Ahh” is all that comes out in response. Tyler clears his throat and tries again. “Um yeah, thanks.” He attempts to speak as casually as possible. His body begins to awkwardly shuffle past the other boy and down the hallway.

"How's your nose?" Josh asks, eyeing the faded bruises along the bridge of his nose. 

Tyler self consciously brings his fingers up to touch it, his nose is still tender and he winces at the contact.

"Better." He decides. He looks up from his hand to see Josh smile. He turns to go to the practice room before Josh can see him blushing.

“Oh and um Tyler,” He hears Josh call out, Tyler turns around immediately. _He said his name._

Josh looks at the boy, as if he’s deciding something, and then stares at the floor. He laughs to himself a bit. Tyler feels his face flush at Josh smiling again. Damn Tyler was weak for this boy.

“Remember to um,” He takes a pause, still staring at the floor, trying to make up his mind. “Remember to turn the lights off?”

“Oh yeah, yeah of course.” Tyler says, more so mumbles to himself.

“Yeah ‘cause Ms. Laurence gets all pissed whenever I forget to turn them off. Anyways, I’ll see you later?”

“Of course.” He watches as the blue haired boy walks down the hall.

 

That was awkward. But nice. But awkward.

Awkward because he almost got caught stalking. Nice because they had an interaction.

A conversation even.

Well, kind of.

 

Tyler gets to the door to the practice room, not knowing what to do with himself. I guess since he got himself into this situation he might as well make the best of it. He flicked the lights on and walked himself over to the piano bench.

He was self-taught and ending up being the classes pianist by accident. Ms. Laurence had gotten surgery on her arm and needed someone to take the seat behind the piano. Maybe it was because of the fact that Tyler played the xylophone, (which Ms. Laurence always makes notice of being a great predecessor to the piano) or maybe it was because Ms. Laurence was being a dick to him, but she picked Tyler to take over. Tyler didn’t really mind after awhile, it got him away from Brendon’s non-stop lovey dovey talk about Ryan and his “freshly baked buns of an ass”, but it also gave him a better view of Josh that wasn’t the back of his head. Once Ms. Laurence had recovered from her surgery she never really made the call for Tyler to move back.

So there he was, sitting behind the piano because he was trying to convince the boy he’s stalking that he wasn’t stalking him.

His fingertips began to graze against the keys, letting out a soft tune. He began to transition into one of his songs he was working on.

The piano at school was a big upgrade from his tiny keyboard he shoves back into his closet before bed (like his sexuality) so he thought it’d be nice to seize the opportunity. He quickly glanced back at the closed door, just to double check that nobody had been walking by. Once he felt safe that nobody was around, he began to whisper out words that had only been rehearsed in the comfort of his bedroom.

“Here I come, come to you, in the very clothes,” He glances back at the door for a second. “That I killed, killed you in and, now I know, I’m alone.” Tyler begins to feel himself get lost in his music.

His fingers repeating the same symphony of keys, starting slow but beginning to press harder and harder. He feels the muscles in his mouth begin to focus on wrapping around every word and syllable that spews out of his mouth.

Reminding him of the dark nights he’d spent in his room, hiding in the corner of his bed, writing and crossing out words in a jumbled mess of a journal, trying to write out his jumbled mess of thoughts and emotions, his jumbled mess of a head.

Tyler feels his throat begin to close in. He speaks quieter, until the words stop coming out altogether.

He continues to play out the keys, slower this time, trying to resurface his head from his thoughts. He pauses for a moment, and changes to another song with a more upbeat melody. He hasn't had the time to work out the words for this song yet, so he just plays it out as he slows down his breathing. Eventually he begins to calm down. After all he’s safe here. Nobody’s going to walk in.

 

Out of paranoia Tyler’s eyes shift back to the door for a second just to double check.

He notices a figure standing in the door frame and goes back to playing.

Wait, crap.

Tyler’s hands cramp up and fumble against the keys as his body turns to face the blue haired boy with a panicked expression on his face.

 

Josh looks at Tyler in awe.

He blinks a few times before speaking, he looks embarrassed.

 

“Shit, I’m so sorry, I um, forgot my sweater.” He quickly walks over to the stool behind the drum set and collects a black hoodie, rushing to the door without making eye contact. He pauses before exiting to say, “Nice playing by the way.” And leaves.

Tyler tried to say something, anything, but not even a noise would come out. How much did he hear?

After sitting and listening to his pounding heart, Tyler collects himself and leaves the practice room. Of course, not without turning the lights off and closing the door behind him.

He goes back to the front of the school to wait for his Mom. She arrives within the two minutes of Tyler’s arrival. She asks him the daily questions. _How was school? Did you enjoy your lunch? Do you have any homework? Did band practice go well?_

But all Tyler could think about was what Josh had said.

 

 _Nice playing._ Was that sarcastic?

 _Nice playing._ Did he hear him sing?

 _Nice playing._ Did he see him start to get emotional?

 _Nice playing._ Would it be appropriate if Tyler passed out?

 

Tyler decides against the last one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oooohhh slight character development and angst wtf ???  
> anyways i'm sorry if this is poorly written i wrote majority of this last night and the night before because i can apparently only write at night?? sorry this took so long to get out but it's out and ya, i have the next few chapters planned out and i hope you guys will like where this is going  
> (sorry if the piano bit with tyler is really out of place)  
> as always let me know what you guys think your feedback gives me life (and thanks for all the awesome comments on the last chapter!!)


	4. the one where josh stalks tyler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "When are you going to admit you're gay for Josh?"  
> Tyler choked on his juice box.

Tyler picked at his sandwich. The strong sent of tuna was off putting to his stomach, more than usual. Ever since that night Josh caught Tyler playing the piano, the idea of watching Josh in the practice room became nerve wracking. He didn't mean to, but he started avoiding Josh like the plague. He was scared of what there next interaction would be, so he thought it'd be best to put it off as long as he could manage.

Throughout the week, they'd brush each other by a few times in the hall, each time Tyler's heart jumped further and further back into his throat, as his legs would suddenly find it in them to walk faster. Maybe it was his imagination, but out of those few times Tyler could've sworn if Josh hadn't been swept away by his friends, he was trying to say something to him.

Thank god he got swept away. Or else Tyler might've had his heart tear out the back of his throat. 

 

Tyler begins to notice a hand snapping in his face.

"Wakey wakey." Brendon chimes. Tyler didn't realize he was staring at Josh across the cafeteria. Tyler mumbles an apology under his breath before continuing to pick away at the crust of his sandwich. "Hey what's wrong? You've been off ever since last practice."

Tyler never did mention what happened to Brendon. And he wanted to keep it that way. Tyler lifts his gaze to the back of the cafeteria again. Josh is sitting with a textbook open, eating a slice of pizza, laughing at something one of his friends said. His eyes look to his food, back to his textbook, and back at his friends again. He sees Josh's head start to move in his direction.

Tyler ducks his head back to his lunch, feeling his face turn all different shades of red. 

"When are you going to admit you're gay for Josh?" Pete says in a nonchalant tone, before stuffing his face with his turkey sub.

Tyler chokes on his juice box, covering his mouth trying to avoid any coming out of his nose. "I'm not-" He coughs.

"Gay?" Pete whispers in a mocking tone. The words makes Tyler's stomach twist into a knot.

 

Tyler's eyes move to the back of the cafeteria again, to stare longingly at the blue haired boy.

Brendon raises his eyebrows and smiles as if the dots were connecting in his head. "Ahh I see, so did one of your stalking sessions not go so well?" He inquires while leaning in.

"Shut up," Tyler mumbles. And with that he felt the air shift, as if Pete had started to key into the fact that something might be wrong. "I don't watch him play anymore."

"Hah! So you admit you stalked him!" Brendon says triumphantly until he feels Pete's' elbow dig into his ribs. He muffles an accusatory 'ow' before cluing in. "I mean um- why? Did something happen?"

Tyler hadn't told anyone he started writing music, hell, he just couldn't. Thinking about it made Tyler feel naked and vulnerable. It was different playing the piano for band, he was following guidelines, using the piano as a tool more so than an instrument. But when Josh had saw Tyler playing, it felt like he'd been caught in the middle of a crime, or getting out of the shower. He felt like a deer in the headlights. He didn't want to experience that feeling again. So Tyler opted for, "I felt weird about it." and it seemed to appease Brendon's curiosity.

"Ahh, the stages of guilt." Brendon said, propping his chin up with his hands.

"Knock it off, I'm serious. I feel weird around him."

"Well maybe you wouldn't feel so weird if you actually tried talking to him?" Brendon suggested.

Tyler felt the urge to immediately reject his suggestion out of habit, but then realized he had a point.

"You know he has a point." Pete says, reading Tyler's mind apparently.

Tyler turned away and huffed out a conflicted breath. 

He sinks deeper into his chair, trying his best to keep his eyes away from the back of the cafeteria.

 

 

-

 

It was getting on to be that time of year when the basketball team started practices again. Last week were tryouts, even though Tyler has been on the team every year he's tried out, he still puts his all into every tryout.

This week was the first official practice. 

The only reason Tyler had joined band was because his therapist said it might be a good opportunity to "interact with new people, make new connections, grow new hobbies" but he knew she just thought it'd get him out of isolating himself in his room after school.

Basketball was more of a career based decision. Tyler never excelled in academics so this was the best way to get into a college. Tyler didn't really question if he enjoyed basketball because it had kind of become something he just _did_ , like breathing. It was routine, it was familiar, which in a way meant it was good.

Once practice is over, Tyler decides to skip the shower and just go home. That is until he goes out into the hall and see's Joshua Dun. 

Tyler runs back and hides behind the corner, peaking his head out to get a better look. 

Josh is just sitting there in the hall, on his phone. He sees his head start to lift up so he runs back into the change room. 

I guess a shower wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.

 

 

 

-

 

 

"It's a great idea!" Brendon's voice chimes over the phone.

"No, no, no," Tyler whines into his pillow.

"Hey don't get your panties in a twist, I'm not just doing this to help out your gay ass-"

"Keep your voice down!" Tyler yells in a whispering voice. "You're on speaker, I don't want my mom to hear that."

"What? That you're gay for Josh Dun?"

"I swear, I'm gonna hang up."

"Okay, okay. But I'm not just doing this for you. I'm doing this for Pete too."

"You're inviting Patrick?" Tyler sits up from his position on his stomach. "Dude, Pete's gonna kill you!"

"Or love me forever!" Brendon says in a far too high pitched tone.

Tyler hates parties. He always ends up hiding in the bathroom, or driving someone drunk back home. So why does Brendon think that throwing a party would be a match making opportunity? Because he's Brendon. 

"Whatever dude," Tyler states, flipping his textbook to the next page. "I'm not going." 

"But you have to!"

Tyler kept his eyes glued to the book.

 

-

 

Music practice went by in a blur, filled with anxiety ridden stares towards Josh's frame, whenever Tyler could pop his head above the piano swiftly enough. Every time he did, he felt like Josh's eyes would dart directly back at him. Tyler packed up his stuff and prepared to stand out with Brendon out at the front of the school, waiting for their parents to pick them up. On their way up the staircase towards the front door Tyler realized he had forgotten his jacket in the music room, during his frenzy of trying to get out there. 

Tyler knew if he went back now, Josh would be playing in one of the practice rooms next to the music room. He ignored Brendon's stalking teases and went to retrieve his jacket. 

With deep breaths, Tyler begins to make his way down the stairs. He walks down the hallway with a brisk pace, trying to get to the music room as fast as he can.

 

 _Get in, get out._ That's all he had to do.

 _Get in, get out._ Josh wouldn't even notice someone was in the music room next door. 

 

Tyler practically throws the door open. He rushes into the dark room and collects his jacket, and he's about to leave. That is until he notices something's kind of off. He doesn't hear any drums.

Regardless, he collects himself as quickly as he can, he puts on his jacket and is about to turn around and leave when he see's somebody's turned the lights on. 

 

"Tyler?" He recognizes that timid voice. It makes him want to melt. 

"Hey Joshua." He says quietly, turning to face the boy standing by the door frame. "I was just getting my jacket, sorry if I interrupted your practicing."

"No, no, it's okay. I wasn't practicing." Josh closes the door behind him, walking up to Tyler. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah." Tyler says taking a slight step back. If Josh got any closer he'd hear his heart pounding. 

 

Josh is looking at Tyler's feet, his eyebrows furrowed.

 

"Are you avoiding me?" He meets his eyes, sounding rather embarrassed. 

Tyler's jaw feels like it's going to fall off. He doesn't know what to say.

 

"I um, I just want to apologize for walking in on you playing last week, I understand if you're mad." Josh explains. Tyler can't believe what he's hearing. "I just want you to know that I'm sorry."

Tyler feels like he could cry. _(But he won't because 'testosterone' and 'manliness')_

"It's okay." He croaks out. "I was just.. embarrassed. I thought you thought I was weird." He says with a laugh. He can't even look at Josh, what a loser. "Nobody's ever heard me play before, I felt like it might've freaked you out, I don't know."

"Not at all, you were really good." Josh says, his smile making the corners of his eyes crinkle. "What were you playing? I couldn't recognize it."

Tyler hesitates.

"I don't know, just some random stuff." He tries to brush it off. The way Josh is looking at him is making him feel weak. 

"Yeah right." Josh says, eyeing him.

 _He isn't stupid, he knows it wasn't just 'random stuff'._ Tyler thinks.

 

"By the way I tried asking you about this on Tuesday, but you seemed to be busy." Josh is looking at his fingers as he speaks, suddenly appearing nervous. "Are you going to Brendon's party tomorrow night?"

"Oh um- no but y-yeah of course, I mean, why will you be there?" Tyler tries to say coherently. 

"Yeah, I mean it seems like it'd be fun, it'd give us a chance to talk instead of just looking at each other in band." Josh's eyes lift to meet Tyler's. Tyler suddenly felt very aware of how close Josh was and how red he felt. How _exposed_ he felt.

Then the dots started to connect. 

 

"Wait, what did you mean by, you tried asking me on Tuesday?" Josh suddenly look flushed. 

"I was um, I waited to see you after your basketball practice." He's laughing now. They're both laughing. That means Josh was stalking _him_. Tyler wasn't the weird one anymore.

"Anyways, that's not the point." Josh says trying to compose himself. "So, are you going to be there tomorrow?"

Tyler's mouth hangs open and all he says is "uhhh"

Tyler hates parties but he really likes Joshua Dun.

But he can't say that to Joshua Dun.

 

"Here, I have an idea. Give me your phone." Josh asks, Tyler probably should've hesitated while unlocking his phone and handing it over to this boy he doesn't know too well, and he wishes he could say he did, but he really didn't. 

He watches Josh type something into his phone. 

"You text me and let me know what you've decided." He says, handing his phone back to him. "Or you know, just text me in general." Tyler was smiling so hard it could've ripped his face.

"Okay," He giggles like a school girl.

Josh suddenly becomes aware of the time. "We should both probably get going, but it was nice talking with you." He says, leaving the room.

"Yeah definitely." Tyler follows him out. "See you later Joshua."

Josh exists through the back door with a wave of the hand, and a bright smile.

 _He left through the back door. That means he probably takes the bus home. So maybe that's why he always practices after band._ Tyler thinks to himself.

 

He opens up his phone to see Josh's contact info. 

His name was "Drummer boy" with the alien emoji.

Tyler was ready to pass out, but he was too busy giggling.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow this took like 12 years for me to make i'm so sorry.  
> i doubt anybody's still reading this but if you are thank you so much!  
> i hope you guys like where this is going 'cause they're both obviously crushing on each other in this chapter.  
> anyways please let me know what you think feedback always gives me life.  
> i'm so sorry i suck at updates so i tried to make this one longer than usual to make up for lack of updates and ya, sorry i'm really tired so some parts of this probably don't make sense, i'll go back and edit it later.


	5. the one where tyler is really nervous

"You shouldn't be panicking, this is good for you!" Brendon's voice cracked in through Tyler's crappy phone. 

"Brendon, it looks like his resting heart rate could be registered as a panic attack," Pete chimed through the skype call. "How can that be good for anybody?"

"Don't you dare make me add Patrick to this call!" Brendon threatened, bringing his face closer to the screen. Pete's face then moved off camera. 

Tyler ignored they're banter and continued to raid his wardrobe.

"I hate parties so much, why am I even going?" Tyler said more to himself than to his friends.

“Because you’re gay!” Brendon yelled. Without hesitation, Tyler proceeded to walk over to his phone and hang up.

He began to pace his bedroom until he finally decided to drop to his bed. He stared at the empty conversation for “Drummer boy” not knowing what to do with himself.

Out of a mere panic of, something, Tyler decided to send an innocent little text.

_hey._

 

Drummer boy began to type almost immediately.

 **Drummer boy:** _i’m assuming this is tyler?_

 

Tyler mentally slapped himself, and then began to ponder whether he should actually hit himself.

 

_oh sorry, yup, that’s me._

**Drummer boy:** _so, have you decided?_

 

Without thinking tyler wrote:

_idk what i’d wear_

 

 **Drummer boy:** _you can wear anything you want_

Tyler sighed.

 **Drummer boy:** _or nothing_

What?

 

 **Drummer boy:** _totally kidding btw!!_

_if you’re like this sober idk if i wanna see you tipsy_

**Drummer boy:** _don’t worry, i promised brendon i’d be a dd_

_a dd?_

**Drummer boy:** _designated driver. i don’t really like drinking._

_me neither._

 

Tyler thinks for a minute.

_well i mean, i’ve never had a drink so idk_

_i prolly don't_

_*probably_

 

 **Drummer boy:** _so, will i prolly see you at the party?_

Tyler giggles.

 

 _prolly_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was so short and kinda filler, but the next chapter is gonna be the party and it's gonna be not boring so yay  
> thank you for sticking with me on this i promise next chapter will actually be good and will not take this long to update.  
> also sorry if the whole texting format is weird/hard to understand


End file.
